Some Thoughts on the Book of Jeremiah

    I've been reading the book of Jeremiah in the Bible lately. Fifty-two chapters seemed like a lot at first, but it's gone by surprisingly quickly.
    And man, is it an interesting read! A divine call, prophecies about an invasion, prophecies about the Messiah, various reigns of kings, betrayal, promises of redemption. These are just a few major things about the book, and there are lots of others as well.
    -Jeremiah himself is an interesting factor to begin with. Sometimes called "the weeping prophet," we get to see other shades of his personality and his emotions as he goes through a 20+ year-long ministry. He grieves for his nation, yearns for his people to turn back to the true God, but he also gets really angry once or twice when persecutors seriously wound him. But even when he seems to be seething with humiliation and pain, he doesn't lose his temper at the people or yell at God. Instead, when he goes to the Lord with his problems and pain, he respects Him and asks for help (Jeremiah 18:18-20 and Chapter 20 are some instances of this). It's a nice example to follow, taking our problems calmly and faithfully to the Lord, "casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7 NKJ).
    -The way God protects Jeremiah and the few people who help him is also a really cool thing to consider. Basically everyone in the country had him in their crosshairs; rulers, religious leaders, even his own neighbors. Jeremiah's life was threatened numerous times, he was thrown into prison for a crime he didn't commit, and he almost starved to death there. But throughout it all, he lived. And so did Jeremiah's scribe Baruch (Jeremiah 45:5), and Ebed-Melech, the man who saved Jeremiah's life by getting him out of a waterless cistern (Jeremiah 39:18), because God was protecting each of them. I just think it's a really great reminder of how He protects and guides us through whatever craziness we might face in life.
    -It was also very enlightening how the book of Jeremiah talks about what happened after the Babylonian invasion. It explains why the remnant that was left behind and their descendants weren't around when Zerubbabel and the people he led came back to the land. The after-invasion chapters also show what happened to Jeremiah after his immediate prophecies came to pass, which answers a couple other questions.
    -And of course, there are a lot of good verses in this book. Personally, Jeremiah 1:5, 1:8, and 20:9 in particular stuck out to me. They're beautiful statements that comfort and inspire, and encourage us to keep witnessing for the Lord.
    What do you think of the book of Jeremiah? Is it your favorite of the prophecy books in the Bible?